Personal Medcial Alarms NZ, one of the fastest growing Elderly care companies in the New Zealand, today announced the launch of their ‘next generation’ of personal emergency alarms.

The Personal Alarm Pendant uses cellular network technology to allow users make that vital call should an emergency occur with the press just one button. Working anywhere in New Zealand where there is 3G cellular coverage, it not only alerts up to five different personal contacts or monitoring station by SMS that there is an emergency, but also allows location finding of the user's whereabouts using Google Maps along with voice to voice communication. The technology used in the personal medical alarm pendant can be used to remotely monitor a person's welfare, enabling the correct type of assistance to be delivered in a duress situation, in a timely manner to a known location, at a low cost.

Unlike traditional Nurse Call technology, the elderly alarm Pendant is not limited geographically as it does not require a landline or base station to communicate an emergency.Working off a user’s own SIM card on Spark or Vodafone 3G Cellular network, it can operate in the home, in a warehouse, at the shopping mall or even in a farmers field . It is weather proof, lightweight and easily worn or carried with the included lanyard. Providing greater independence for the elderly is what the pedant was designed for. We find that elderly have been afraid to leave the security of their houses as traditional technology kept them within a range of roughly 50 meters of a base station should they ever need help. Our personal medical alarm pendant offers true independence, giving the users freedom to go out and explore with the knowledge that they have the security and safety of the pendant with them, and carers know they can be located easily if there are any issues”.

Utilizing GPS/GPRS/GSM technology, the Personal Alarm pendant has location finding features which can be invaluable for elderly who tend to wander. At any time, the Personal Alarm pendant can be located by the emergency contacts, so if a user has gone missing, their exact location can be found within seconds. Similarly, it also uses the GPS/GPRS/GSM functionality for Geo Fencing. When the Geo Fencing feature is activated, the pendant creates an invisible fence around the predetermined area, say a house for instance. Should the Safe-Life pendant detect it has moved into or out of a Geo Fenced area, it will alert the emergency contacts. An invaluable technology for people that struggle relatives with dementia or employers that want to contain or exclude employees or contractors from certain areas. “We have all heard the stories in the news of elderly or infirm wandering away from home and it taking days to find them. With our pendants, you will never hear about these stories again as users can be identified and located immediately”.

The Personal Medical Alert Alarm pendant technology also integrates accelerometers that can detect a user having a fall. Fall detection plays a crucial role in saving the life of elderly, with 1 in 3 over the age of 65 having a significant fall annually. The fact that falls often lead to the loss of consciousness and users may not be able to manually press the SOS button, the Safe-Life pendant has been designed to react automatically alerting emergency contacts it the device senses a fall. Being waterproof, the Alarm pendant can serve its purpose in bathrooms where most elderly fall accidents occur.

Irrespective of the application being a farmer working in the field, a lone worker in a warehouse, a contractor on a worksite, or an aged resident having absconded from a rest home, this low cost, palm sized personal alarm & location finding device is set to revolutionise the Aged Care and Health & Safety industries. We have already sold multiple units to emergency services. They immediately saw the advantages of being able to track the wearers in high risk situations, and also have the wearers able to contact their commanders if they are in trouble.

Primarily directed at the Aged Care industry & elderly alarms, we see this product transcending across industries, “We have a new and assistive technology that can reach out to almost any part of the main populations centres of New Zealand at a cost of less than $400+gst per unit with no ongoing costs other than topping up the SIM card. The added Health & Safety value to Rest Homes and carers being able to improve independence, provide security and save lives is immeasurable.